SEPT 25 - 27, 2026 | LONDON
Ben Shelton’s rise has been quick enough that it’s easy to forget how recently he became one of sport’s most watchable competitors.
Four years ago, he was playing college tennis for the University of Florida under the guidance of his father, Bryan Shelton, helping the Gators win the NCAA team title before capturing the NCAA singles championship in 2022. By the end of the following season, he had broken into the world’s top 20. This year, he returns to Laver Cup for a third time, currently as the top-ranked American man in tennis, and one of the centerpieces of Team World’s bid to win a fourth title in London, alongside Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur, with three more players to be named.
The journey from promising prospect to established force has unfolded at remarkable speed, and the Laver Cup has consistently brought out the best in Shelton. “Feels good,” Shelton said of returning to the competition ahead of the San Francisco 2025 edition. “It’s an event that I was looking forward to. I love team events. I love the guys that we always have on our team.”
London 2026 will mark several firsts for the 23-year-old. It will be his first Laver Cup appearance at The O2, his first under new Team World Captain Andre Agassi and Vice Captain Patrick Rafter, and his return after injury denied him the opportunity to compete in San Francisco.
Shelton had been set to play before falling hard on his left shoulder during his third-round US Open match, forcing him to retire from the tournament and ultimately withdraw from the Laver Cup.
Now healthy again, he arrives as a very different player from the one first selected by John McEnroe for Vancouver in 2023. At the time, McEnroe predicted Shelton would become a top 10 player. Shelton has since climbed as high as No.5 in the PIF ATP Rankings, qualified for the ATP Finals and established himself as one of the sport’s most dangerous big-match players, with five titles to his credit including two this year.
Few players in the game carry more raw electricity onto a court. At 6ft 4”, the left-hander combines a serve that has pushed beyond 150 mph with explosive movement, heavy spin and a willingness to play aggressively in the biggest moments. Yet there is nuance too: the slice backhand, touch at net, and service variety that have helped him evolve beyond simple power tennis.
He plays with visible emotion, feeds off crowds and embraces the theatre of major occasions, traits shaped in part by his college tennis background and his experience as a high school quarterback in Atlanta.
Across two editions at Laver Cup, Shelton has compiled a 6-2 record and contributed 12 points for Team World. In Vancouver, he won three of his matches without dropping a set as Team World secured its second consecutive title.
A first appearance at The O2
The O2 has already hosted some of the defining moments in Laver Cup history, including Team World’s breakthrough victory in 2022, and Roger Federer’s emotional farewell playing alongside Rafael Nadal. This year, Shelton arrives not as an emerging talent but as one of the established names expected to help carry Team World forward into a new era under Agassi.
“Andre Agassi is one of the ultimate icons in our sport,” Shelton said. “An American legend and someone that I know all of us from the United States have kind of looked up to as tennis players. It’ll be really cool to learn from him a little bit.”
The connection to Team World’s new captains also runs deep. Shelton’s father competed against both Agassi and Rafter during his own career and remains close with the Australian.
“Pat Rafter and my dad are really good friends,” Shelton said. “They’ve known each other for a long time, and my dad used to spend three seasons down there in Australia with him. I think they played some doubles together. So, it’ll be cool to get to learn from him a bit as well. One of the greatest servers that we’ve ever seen.”
Shelton’s own tennis influences are easy to spot. He has often pointed to Pete Sampras as an inspiration, particularly for the former world No. 1’s athleticism and attacking instincts.
“I think for me, Sampras, the way that he played, his athleticism, the serve, there’s a few similarities,” Shelton said. “He’s someone that I like to kind of watch tape on. The way that he played is inspiring for sure.” He has also spoken of Federer as a childhood hero, while his father and coach has remained the guiding influence throughout his rise.
Shelton reached the US Open semifinals in 2023, the Australian Open semifinals in 2025, and the Wimbledon quarterfinals later that same year. He captured his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and has already won twice in 2026, including the Munich ATP 500 title on clay — becoming the first American man since Agassi in 2002 to win an ATP 500-level event or higher on the surface.
